Color laser printers typically have distinct color and monochrome print modes, each of which is capable of printing pages. Monochrome pages may typically be printed in either a monochrome or color mode, while color pages are printed in the color mode.
Printing monochrome pages in a color mode may increase wear on consumables within the printer, such as toner cartridges and print drums. Printing each color page of a print job in a color print mode and each monochrome page in the monochrome print mode requires switching between print modes between pages. Switching print modes between pages of the print job in this manner typically causes delays and may increase the wear on consumables. In order to prevent or reduce the switching time monochrome pages may be printed in color but at the expense of increased wear on the color cartridge. Alternative techniques that enable switching between print modes while minimizing switching delay are desired.